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This page accompanies the MOOC English Pronunciation in a Global World, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Global English is an FB-page that accompanies the online course English Pronunciation in a Global World https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/english-pronunciation

05/09/2026

Surprising pronunciation.
Draught is pronounced how?!

‘Draught’ can mean a subtle flow of wind indoors.

Beer that comes the bar tap instead of in a bottle, is called ‘draught beer’.

The spelling of the word ‘draught’ can be quite misleading. ‘Draught’ is pronounced as /drɑːft/ or “draft”.

Want to learn more?
Follow us on Instagram and check out the English Pronunciation in a Global World FutureLearn course.

29/08/2026

It’s back to school time!
It is never too late to learn something new.

It is back to school time in many parts of the world.
If you have always wanted to work on your English pronunciation, now is the perfect time to do it!

The English Pronunciation in a Global World course is free for anyone and offers a community of learners from all over the world.

Want to learn more?
Follow us on Instagram and check out the English Pronunciation in a Global World FutureLearn course.

22/08/2026

Surprising pronunciation:

Drought is not pronounced as (you) thought!

‘Drought’ means a period of dryness.
Judging by the spelling of the word ‘drought’, you might think it rhymes with words such as ‘thought’ or ‘brought’.

But ‘drought’ is pronounced as /draʊt/, which rhymes with ‘out’ and ‘about’.

Want to learn more?
Follow us on Instagram and check out the English Pronunciation in a Global World FutureLearn course.

15/08/2026

Trevor Noah is his grandmother’s favourite grandchild because of his accent.

08/08/2026

Walking from France all the way to Atlanta? A funny miscommunication between Trevor Noah and a Frenchman in the audience.

02/08/2026

Everyone’s talking about The Odyssey but how is it pronounced? 🎬🍿

‘The Odyssey’ is difficult to spell and the spelling can also make it difficult to figure out how it is pronounced.

Here is how Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson and Tom Holland pronounce “The Odyssey”.

Want to learn more? Follow us on Instagram and check out the English Pronunciation in a Global World FutureLearn course!

25/07/2026

Did you know the number 0 can be pronounced as “nought?

Decimals. 0.5% is pronounced as “zero point five” or “nought point five percent”.

The temperature has risen by 0.2 °C, which is “zero point two” or “nought point two degrees Celsius”.

It rained 0.9 mm yesterday. “Zero point nine millimetres” or “Nought point nine millimetres”.

If you’re not sure how to pronounce the 0, you can also omit it completely in the previous examples!
“Point five percent.”
“Point two degrees.”
“Point nine millimetres.”

You’ve probably heard of this game which is called tic-tac-toe or noughts and crosses.

Want to learn more? Follow us on Instagram and check out the English Pronunciation in a Global World FutureLearn course!

18/07/2026

Did you know the number 0 can be pronounced as “oh”?

For example, if you receive these hotel keys, you could say you are staying in “room hundred and 5”. A more natural, easier and quicker way would be to say you are in “room one oh five”.

A common way to tell the time is to say it is “nine past ten”. But you can also say it is “ten oh nine”.

Zeros in telephone numbers are also pronounced as “oh”. If a phone numbers starts with 1230405, “the number is one-two-three-oh-four-oh-five”.

When you have a 4.0 GPA, you can say you graduated with “a four point oh GPA”.

And you have probably heard of the fictional character James Bond, who is often called 007: “double-oh seven”.

Want to learn more? Follow us on Instagram and check out the English Pronunciation in a Global World FutureLearn course!

10/07/2026

Did you know 3-0 is not pronounced as three-zero?

When there is a zero in the score, the zero is pronounced as “nil”. 3-0 would be pronounced as three-nil. If nobody scores, it’s nil-nil.

Nil comes from the Latin word nihil, which means nothing.

There are some exceptions. Americans, usually when talking about American sports, call 3-0 three-nothing or three to nothing. In tennis, a score of zero is called love.

Want to learn more? Follow us on Instagram and check out the English Pronunciation in a Global World FutureLearn course.

19/06/2026

✨ Quick English Upgrade!

Do you often use the word “very” when speaking or writing in English?

You are definitely not the only one! “Very” is useful, but using it too often can make your English sound less specific. The good news? You can replace “very + adjective” with one stronger word.

For example:
Instead of saying very good, you can say excellent.
Instead of very tired, try exhausted.
Instead of very big, use huge.

Small vocabulary changes like this can make your English sound more natural, confident, and expressive. 💬

Now it’s your turn:
Can you think of another “very + adjective” combination and a stronger word to replace it?

Write your example in the comments ⬇️
Let’s build a vocabulary list together!

If you want to improve your English step by step, follow us on Instagram and check out the FutureLearn course in our bio.

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